1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to printers and more particularly to a printer that prints on a recording medium on which data is recordable.
2. Background Art
In the past, there have been printers that print characters of a title for data recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disk comprising a CD-R (Compact Disk-Recordable) where data is recorded as disclosed, for example, in Japanese patent publication 2003-72155. These printers comprise a tray where a recording medium is loaded. The tray is movable between the inside of the printer body and its outside. When data is printed, the tray is moved away from the printer body, a recording medium is loaded on the tray, the tray with the recording medium thereon is returned into the printer body and a printing mechanism provided within the printer body prints on the recording medium. The printing mechanism comprises a carriage on which a thermal head is mounted. The carriage is moved above the tray received within the printer body to print on the recording medium on the tray in a predetermined range. However, the printers' structure is not necessarily simple because the printer body includes the tray with the recording medium loaded thereon is moved relative to the printer body and the printing mechanism that moves the carriage, on which the thermal head is mounted, within the printer body.
In view of these conventional printers, the applicants invented an improved printer for printing on a recording medium, and more particularly, a printer comprising an improved printing mechanism that prints on a conventional printing tape, as disclosed in Japanese patent publication 2000-225746.
The printing mechanism of this printer comprises a printing mechanism where a thermal head and a platen are placed upstanding in opposing relationship at a predetermined position within the printer body. An ink cartridge containing an ink ribbon is loadable into a cartridge receiving section provided at a predetermined position within the printer body in order to supply the printing mechanism with the ink ribbon. By driving the printing mechanism, a recording medium set in the upstanding state is conveyed along with the ink ribbon such that data is printed in a thermal transferring manner on a label surface of the recording medium.
As in the conventional tape printer, in this printer when a tape cartridge that contains a printing tape and an ink ribbon is loaded into the cartridge receiving section, thermal transfer printing is performed on the printing tape. When an ink cartridge that contains a recording medium and an ink ribbon is loaded into the cartridge receiving section, printing is performed on the recoding medium. In this case, the printer body is flat box-shaped and has a small height dimension compared to the diameter dimension of a disk-like recording medium. Thus, in order that the recording medium is loaded in an upstanding state into the printer body and conveyed upstanding while being printed, a slit-like inlet through which the recording medium is inserted is provided along the conveyance passage in a printer cover positioned above the conveyance passage for covering the cartridge receiving section openably.
In this printer, the cover is opened and then an ink cartridge is loaded into the cartridge receiving section. Then the cover is closed, and an upstanding recording medium is loaded at a set position within the printer body through the slit-like inlet in the printer cover. In this state, substantially an upper half of the printing medium appears outside the cover, a middle portion of the printing medium is in the slit-like inlet in the cover and substantially a lower half of the printing medium is loaded into the printer body. When the printing mechanism starts to print, an ink in the ink ribbon is transferred by heat produced by the thermal head to the label surface of the recording medium that is held between the thermal head and the platen and conveyed upstanding along with the ink ribbon in an superimposed manner.
This printer is constructed based on the conventional tape printer. A keyboard is provided on the user's side part of an upper or front surface of the printer body, including keys for inputting information to be printed, performing various setting operations and giving various commands about print control. A liquid crystal display that displays information to be printed and/or necessary for printing and the cartridge receiving section where a tape cartridge is loaded exchangeably are disposed side by side right and left at positions remote from the user on the front surface of the printer body with an openable cover for the display and the cartridge receiving section. This is a widely employed layout of the printer.
In order to load and unload a cartridge into and from the cartridge receiving section easily in this printer, the cartridge receiving section has a large opening, the cover that normally covers the cartridge receiving section is attached rotatable to the printer body by hinges provided at the back of the printer body such that an open cover is not a hindrance to the cartridge exchanging operation. When the cover is open, it is upstanding or at an angle of 90 degrees or more at the back of the printer body compared to a state where the cover is closed. An engaging mechanism is provided between the cover and the printer body for maintaining the cover closed against the printer body. An operating button is provided on the front surface of the printer body to release the engaging state of the engaging mechanism when the cover is opened. An uplifting mechanism is provided to uplift the cover on the opposite free end side of the cover from the hinges in a releasing direction when the engaged state of the cover by the engaging mechanism is released. This facilitates an opening operation of the cover subsequent to its releasing operation.
When it is found that no ink cartridge is loaded after a recording medium is loaded into the printer body or exchange of an ink cartridge once loaded with another one of a different color is desired, the cover need be opened for loading or exchanging purposes. However, when the cover is opened inadvertently with the recording medium set into the printer body, an inner edge of the slit-like inlet in the cover will possibly hit the label surface of the recording medium, thereby damaging the same.
More particularly, in this printer the conveying direction of the recording medium, the extending direction of the slit-like inlet in the cover and the label surface of the recording medium set into the printer body are parallel to the extending direction of the hinge axle around which the cover is turned for opening/closing the cartridge receiving section. When the cover is turned around the hinge axle in the opening direction, the inner edge of the slit-like inlet will possibly hit the label surface of the recording medium, thereby damaging the same.
When the user inadvertently pushes the operation button that releases the engagement of the cover with the printer body after the recording medium is loaded into the printer body, the uplifting mechanism starts to operate such that the cover is lifted on its free-end side and the inner edge of the inlet in the cover will hit the recording medium, thereby causing the recording medium to deviate from its set position within the printer body and hence from its printing position.
When the cover is disengaged from the printer body in an incomplete closed state, the inner edge of the inlet would hit the label surface of the recording medium that is conveyed along the inlet or the conveyance of the recording medium would be hindered, thereby providing no good printing.